Reading and Writing: Standard English Conventions
SAT Question of the Day for October 19, 2026
The archive's newly digitized collection of nineteenth-century daguerreotypes, along with a set of handwritten letters donated by the Whitford estate, _______ researchers an unprecedented opportunity to trace the social networks of free Black communities in antebellum Philadelphia.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A.offer
- B.offersCorrect answer
- C.are offering
- D.have offered
Explanation
The true subject of the sentence is "collection," which is singular. The phrase "along with a set of handwritten letters donated by the Whitford estate" is a parenthetical addition set off by commas; it does not form a compound subject. Therefore, the verb must be singular: "offers." The choice "offer" is a plural verb form that incorrectly treats the subject as plural, likely because the intervening phrase mentions additional items. The choice "are offering" uses a plural auxiliary verb, committing the same agreement error while also shifting to the progressive aspect without contextual justification. The choice "have offered" uses a plural auxiliary and shifts to the present perfect tense, but the passage describes the current state of a newly digitized collection, making the simple present the appropriate tense.
How to use this question
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